Esperanto -- Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo (in English)

Conceived by Edwin Grobe; Author: Dr. Paul Gubbins

General

Esperanto,Pasporto al la Tuta Mondo is a new Esperanto course, consisting of 15 video lessons (of 30 minutes each), intended for individual or group study, plus a 16th lesson with a summary, history and original music. The pedagogically based entertaining story line makes learning Esperanto easier and more fun. Each lesson is presented entirely in Esperanto and consists of three parts: introduction, drama, recapitulation.

NOTE: This course was originally prepared in VHS format on eight video cassettes, with accompanying printed text and exercises. A DVD version is now available consisting of four DVD disks with four lessons each, plus two CDs; one of the lesson texts in PDF format, and one of the accompanying exercises, also in PDF format. Both versions are available from Esperanto-USA (see below).

Parts of the videos are also available on-line, but when you purchase the course you also receive the instructional materials and subtitles in other languages.

In each lesson, an introduction by a teacher offers a brief review of the previous lesson and outlines the main grammatical points to be covered in the current lesson. On the video tapes, this is entirely in Esperanto; but on the DVDs subtitles for the words of the teacher are available in several languages: Esperanto, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Japanese. Subtitles in other languages are in process of being added for other regions of the world.

The drama continuously builds interest in the character and intrigue for the many plot twists throughout the 15 lessons. The continuity of situation and character development of a television-style drama make students eager to follow the adventures of the Bonvolo family and their friends and acquaintances. The Bonvolo family is no ordinary family. The father, Georgo, is a Greek philosopher and the mother, Filisa, a dancer. The harmony of this somewhat extraordinary family is upset when a young shepherd, complete with sheep, decides to take advantage of the Pasporta Servo and comes to stay. The resulting complications and misunderstandings provide the basis for fast-moving and lively story which will hold the attention of learners -- and of more experienced Esperanto speakers -- until the closing song in lesson 16.

Photos of the actors and Esperanto descriptions of the roles can be found here.

A website in German devoted to Pasporto with several screenshots can be found here.

To reinforce and practice the new material introduced in each lesson, the recapitulation by the "teacher" at the beginning and end of each lesson looks in detail at the principal grammatical points presented in the drama and prepares the learner for the written exercises which accompany the course. The written exercises, created by Stefan MacGill, complement the lessons and provide the reading and writing practice essential to the learning of any language.

Aims

Pasporto is a carefully graded introductory course designed to take a beginning student through the principal stages of Esperanto acquisition.

Vocabulary, phrases and grammar are introduced naturally via the dialogue. By the end of the 15 lessons it is anticipated that the learner will be able to:

Converse with confidence and accuracy in a range of everyday situations;

Understand spoken Esperanto in a variety of contexts and from a variety of speakers with moderate national accents;

Recognize the principal features of Esperanto grammar and apply them in spoken and written discourse;

Identify and understand aspects of Esperanto culture

Flourish in the wider Esperanto world, participating with profit and pleasure in Esperanto courses and events such as local, regional, national and international gatherings and excursions.

Method
Esperanto is used exclusively throughout the video; individual teachers will decide how much explanation to permit in the national language. The direct method -- exclusive use of the target language -- means the learner is exposed from the outset to Esperanto as it is spoken throughout the world. To this end the actors in Pasporto are drawn from various language backgrounds: Chinese, Croatian, Danish, English, Japanese, Hispanic and others.

Grammatical points are reinforced via a range of imaginative exercises intended to underpin the new elements introduced in the video. The main points of grammar covered in each lesson include:

Lesson 1:

Nouns (singular/plural); adjectives; -as; numerals 1-10

Lesson 2:

-is, -os; pronouns; adjectives (plural); days of the week; numerals over 10

General review; logic of Esperanto; suggestions for further participation.

Lesson 16:

Historical background of creation of the course; original songs, and summary of why one should learn Esperanto.

Suffixes, prefixes and "korelativoj" are introduced steadily throughout the course and the vast majority will have been covered by the end.

Culture

Esperanto culture is an essential element in Pasporto and the learner is gradually introduced to the basic concepts forming Esperanto society.

Features include: Pasporta Servo, Universala Esperanto-Asocio (UEA), Universala Kongreso de Esperanto (UK). The name Zamenhof is mentioned at an early stage and principal Esperanto reference works such as Plena Ilustrita Vortaro, Plena Analiza Gramatiko and Libro de Amo as well as literary works and their authors. Students will become familiar with the Esperanto hymn.

In this way Pasporto prepares the learner for Esperanto life and culture beyond the scope of the course. It is, indeed, very much a passport to the whole world -- not just the Esperanto world but to the world of international friendships and understanding which is at the heart of the Esperanto ideal.

Prices

DVD version (4 DVD disks + 2 CDs): US$75

Europeans may order copies from UEA for 69 Euros.

Many individuals and organizations (listed at the end of each lesson) have given generously to support this project. Neither E-USA nor the many Esperantists involved in the project receive any monetary profit -- quite the contrary! The work was largely voluntary and unpaid (except for the director, professional studios and production crews), and the volunteers very often did not ask to be compensated for many of the costs they incurred.

More information is available from E-USA at [510] 653-0998 (e-mail: elna@esperanto-usa.org ) or from the Commissioner for Audio-Visual Instruction, Lusi Harmon, at [510] 531-8393 (e-mail: LusiHarmon@aol.com ) or by fax at [510] 531-0152.